He was born to Italian-American immigrant family in Syracuse, New York, on November 1, 1897, and grew up in Sayre, Pennsylvania.

He became director of sports activities for the Catholic Welfare Council, later becoming a steel worker in Bethlehem, a street car conductor, riveter and later a trainman on the Lackawanna Railroad.

According to fellow communist city councilman Benjamin J. Davis and newspaper accounts, Cacchione served in World War I.

Cacchione served until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1947 after attending a meeting of the City Council.

Immediately after his election in 1941, Councilman Hugh Quinn, Democrat of Queens, announced that he would challenge Cacchione's right to sit on the Council pursuant to the Devaney Law.